Race Recap: Rock 'n' Roll Savannah

This is what I felt like on Sunday.

The Inaugural Savannah RnR was amazing. All of the neighborhoods we ran through really came together, cheered everyone on and pumped up all 23,000 runners.

Friday Night:

Friday was the Pasta Dinner for the DetermiNation Pasta Dinner being held at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center. What a fabulous evening of singlet decorating, wearing rock & roll wigs/guitars, and mixing with our fellow runners. The amazing display of "make-your-own" pasta bar was DELICIOUS! A gorgeous display of toppings to cover two types of pastas, three sauces, salads, rolls, and of course--- cookies! 

Saturday (Race Day):

 Before the Race-- my name got removed, silly Bib!

 Since people spent longer than expected trying to get to the Center to pick up their packets at the Expo, I figured we would leave before the roosters get up. And no, just because I live in GA, it does not mean I have real roosters. We got downtown at 5:15am and literally saw one other car on Broughton Street. No runners near the corrals. So we headed over the Mulberry Inn (LOVE this hotel, check it out--- Used to be 2nd US Coca-Cola Bottling Plant) to meet up with our DNation runners out of the cold! Thank goodness!

After a few team photos and a potty break, we braved the cold and got into our corral, #15! It was so fun to see all of my Fleet Feet Savannah C.R.E.W. training group in the same corral. We were all so excited! The race kicked off promptly at 7:30am!

As we inched our way up to the start, it was great to see people I knew! Hi, Erica, Larry, Karen & Jeff!

And we're OFF! We ran down Bay for about 2 miles and turned into West Savannah neighborhoods. The community there was all outside cheering and so excited to have us there! I kept all my throwaways on; gloves, head warmers, and socks turned arm warmers until about mile 5 when I started to get naked take off piece by piece. It was quite a chilly start!

We ran through the industrial area, which I think is great because Savannah is the 2nd largest export port in the Nation. So why not show off what we got!

7 miles into the race, we were back into the Historic District and let me tell you, Liberty Street did NOT disappoint. I felt like the elite athlete I am! People cheering, signs ('Worst Parade Ever', '26.2 is Awesome, because 26.3 is Crazy'), and handing out high fives like they were hotcakes. Fast forward to this mornings run, one of the girls in my group was giving out those high five hotcakes and accidentally smacked someone in the face..... BAM!

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Another great area of the course was Gordonston, a neighborhood I have not been much because I have no friends like to hobnob downtown. What a show they put on! There were woman twirling their hula hoops, the cheerleaders on the hairpin turn were great, and the band that Savannah Morning News sponsored was AWESOME. Thanks for a great show.... but sadly, us full marathoners had to peace out from the halfsies... but even that part was great! I was running near some peeps I knew, so they had a group cheering for us and we got on the ramp to the Truman. So empowering! THANK YOU!

Round about Daffin Park and Historic Grayson Stadium, home to the Sand Gnats it happened. Like a ton of bricks. I hit my wall. Seriously? At mile 14, my wall? Ugh. I had a huge cramp in my side... as soon as I got to the really motivating Savannah State University Campus, I swiped that salt packet and it helped. Slowly peeled back the layers of the wall. It took about four miles.

Mile 18-26 were fine... and I enjoyed the music and the course. Even the Truman wasn't bad at the end! I found that even if you help a complete stranger on the course for 8 miles get through their own mental wall.... sometimes they don't thank you.

Our ACS coach, Sean, found me at mile 24 and ran with me until mile 26. He was great to talk to and get my mind off of the pain. He is always so positive and gave me some tips to really kick it in and how to feel great for the remainder of the day!

Mile 26- 26.2 was my favorite! I saw my dad--- still with his goofy hat on--- right at mile 26. He was yelling "Go get em" and "I'm so proud of you".... I still get a tear in my eye. Then I rounded the longest corner ever! And I saw my friend Stephanie who flew in from Arizona, my friend Mei-Mei (who totally surprised me by coming down from VA and I kept yelling-- "Mei... Mei... Mei" in disbelief), and my awesome fiance- with his medal around his neck!

Official time- 6:15:55

Oh.. and when I crossed..... the announcer said "Congratulations- what a great way to spend your birthday. Celebrating with 23,000 people". I almost cried!

I did it! No throwing my princess crown on the ground because I hurt my knee at mile 15 and DNF'd. I am a marathoner. Yes, this was my second attempt. Sometimes you can't help what happens. But you can always try and hold your head up high. I don't think my first attempt was a failure but a journey to 11/5/11.

Next up on the blog.... talking about my goals for the next few months and my 7 races. Get ready for more activity on here and a more active VTB! LET'S GO!